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I have previously been relatively unsatisfied with some of the movies due to a combination of poor script adaptation, suffering CG sequences or lack of acting prowess from a number of principal actors. "Deathly Hallows, Part 1", however, is one of the only Harry Potter movies I walked away from without feeling it was incomplete in the way I felt about some of the other films. I was actually very satisfied with the end result, even with the changes it had, and felt strongly enough about it to see it again another 4 times. There are obvious limitations when bringing a book to life on the big screen like budget problems and time constraints, actor availability, finding suitable and affordable filming locations and hiring a CGI company with the chops to get the job done. I thought this movie addressed the shortcomings in prior films because most of what I saw I thought was done exceedingly well, both on the part of the crew and the actors.
PROS:
Nearly everything in this movie conveyed a sense of impending doom and haunting depression, even the rusted and dilapidated WB logo at the start of the film. That sense of malcontent and sadness has been a big source of criticism from some, mostly those who have not read the book and don't understand that the feeling of hopelessness is canon in a majority of the plot. That said, I found it to be appropriate, even if a little exhausting at some parts such as the times where we see Harry and Hermione slowly gathering their things, without speaking to each other, getting ready to change locations, just to set up again without speaking. This movie is about a war and, although it's primarily viewed on the periphery, war is never happy. Relationships are severely tested and splintered in this installment, but such is the life of someone who has been tasked with a near-impossible job, with limited knowledge of how to handle and complete the task, with the added burden of having few allies to turn to, no family and no contact with friends, all while being hunted by a racist, fascist government. It's not exactly a walk in the park for Harry, so to those who are criticizing the gloominess of the movie, try to keep that perspective in mind. The book conveys those feelings of overwhelming depression well and I think the movie does as well as it can, without the help of the creative exposition that is the luxury of the written word.
I thought the crew did an excellent job setting the tone of scenes with lighting and camera angles and finding gorgeous filming locations that took my breath away. They were far more beautiful, unique and - more poignantly - much lonelier than I pictured in my head when I read the book; that to me was one of the things that contributed heavily to the sadness the heroes felt. This was also one of the few things that I thought the movie did better than book. And I don't say that lightly or very often.
The relationships between the characters are so very strained the whole novel; I felt this was handled well in the movie, though I confess it was something I was very worried about going in. Prior to this movie, there haven't been many opportunities for our heroes to express and sustain emotions as powerful and deep as the emotions they experience in this novel, and I while I've enjoyed the previous movies, I've always felt the actor's abilities (especially those of our 3 heroes) left something to be desired and I wasn't sure they could hack the more intense emotional scenes. I was relieved to find that they did very well in many of the major scenes, such as the big fight that sends Ron packing. I was so happy with the way this scene went, nearly word for word faithful to the book and acted wonderfully by Grint and Radcliffe. Another favorite was the scene when was Ron is Splinched coming out of the Ministry. I about cried the first time simply because of Watson's feeling during that ordeal, it was very impressive. Also, her performance in the scene at Malfoy Manor was incredibly unnerving. That scene was difficult to watch and had a few people around me covering their eyes.
Harry's birthday was cut out entirely, which I'm reasonably fine with; there was nothing hugely important in that chapter that couldn't have been put where it ended up and I felt that was an acceptable re-write. In fact, I quite enjoyed seeing sneaky big brother George (complete with a toothbrush stuck tactlessly in his wound) coming in to embarrass Ginny And Harry. I felt that scene was one of the most awkward of the film, mostly because I find the "chemistry" between Radcliffe and Wright to be pathetically strained, put-on and creepy to watch. Oliver Phelps (George) saved that scene.
I also appreciated that when everyone regroups at the Burrow after the "Seven Harrys" scene, they gave Mr. Weasley's lines in the book (or the equivalent of his lines) to Fred instead. I felt that was a nice touch, and even as I was reading Deathly Hallows the first time through, the whole time I thought it would have been more touching and appropriate to give Fred more of an interaction with his twin than he had in the book. It was so moving that even the audience seemed to breathe the same sigh of relief that Fred did. That's tough to manage in a film so major kudos to the sorely underused and underappreciated Phelps brothers. I had high standards for the portrayal of Fred and George from the beginning due to the fact that they easily number among my favorite characters of the whole series, and I'm very pleased that James and Oliver deliver so well every time we see them.
CONS:
The only scene that was cut that I truly actually missed, was the scene when Kreacher tells the trio the heartbreaking truth about Sirius's brother Regulus; a truth that not even Sirius or the rest of his family knew. Although it probably would have taken up a full 5 minutes in the film - a hugely long time for a theatrical scene - in order to convey the message accurately and do the story justice, I still missed it since it was inspiring to learn about Regulus' bravery and sacrifice. That scene also marked the beginning to Kreacher's newfound loyalty to Harry, which comes into play later on. I hope we'll see at least some mention of in Part 2, even though the fact that the basis for it was cut from Part 1 may make the connection in Part 2 seem a little random so those who haven't read the books.
Another thing I didn't like, but don't blame "Part 1" for, is the immense amount of damage control it had to do after the shoddy, rushed offering that was "Half-Blood Prince". It seemed like all the loose ends that were introduced in HBP and were important to the overall story but we cut out of HBP were all stuffed into the "Seven Harrys" sequence. It was like as each character comes into the room, they have to stop and explain themselves to Harry (or rather, the viewing audience) since Yates failed to include those many major points in HBP. It's too bad the "Deathly Hallows, Part 1" has to take the heat for that shortcoming.
My one major criticism would be the soundtrack. With the exception of the song "Obliviate" at the beginning, I found the music to be unremarkable and that it added next to nothing to the movie. As a former music student and performer for many years, I tend to listen very hard for a movie's soundtrack (harder than many of my friends and family members do) and look for a good connection between the movie and music, since music has the power to convey so much that actors or good lighting simply can't. I just didn't find that in Part 1. A good score can be easily used to express a message or feeling in a scene, but I can't remember a point in the movie when I felt moved by anything on the soundtrack. I wish they'd stuck with John Williams or another proven veteran, rather than change things up, though I understand scheduling conflicts probably came into play. The dreariest, saddest music can also easily be the most beautiful and stirring, but this soundtrack really disappointed me. Had the movie not been so good as to prevent me from really caring about how bland the music was, I might have rated it lower.
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As for the criticisms I've been seeing from others, one of the most common ones is that it's "only half a movie". In order to preserve the integrity of the conclusion to the biggest selling book series of all time, it was split into two parts to allow for more time to address as much of the canon story as possible without rushing or cutting out too much detail that's so critical to the plot. Some also complained it dragged. This isn't a fair criticism for the movie since the camping scenes dominate the novel too, so to those who don't like it, take it up with Rowling, because the movie sticks to her book very well. Actually, there's more camping in the book than there is in the movie, if I remember correctly. Still, I didn't mind the camping scenes, since it illustrated the fact that Harry and Hermione (and Ron) really struggled with their goal while also having to be on the run for a majority of the story.
Another popular critical judgment is the debated reason for the split in the first place. Was Part 1 merely a "lead-in" to Part 2? Just a "filler" or "built-up tease", as I've seen some critics and fans write? To each his/her own, I suppose. My opinion on it is no, it's not filler, and certainly not a way to squeeze more money out of the franchise, as a popular and shrewd argument that's been getting repeated quite a bit says. However, if it were true, and money were the only driving force here - which I don't agree that it is - then please keep in mind that WB, whose purpose it is as a business is to bring in as much profit as possible, then really, what's the complaint here? A corporation in a capitalistic society trying to cash in on something people like? Perfectly understandable.
But like I said above, I do not agree that the choice to split it was based on money-grubbing. That decision was about maintaining the integrity of the story and I think a lot of people who've read the book can agree that this would have been a total let-down had the powers-that-be allowed all of Deathly Hallows to be stuffed into a single movie. It's easy for those who are unfamiliar with the books to criticize that decision now simply because they don't know what's all to come from this point on, while the readers know that there's still A LOT of story in "Deathly Hallows" left to cover. I'll be very interested to see if that attitude changes after Part 2 is released. When they see just how much story is crammed into the final installment (certainly in the book and hopefully in the movie, assuming it does a good job of staying true), I think many of them will be forced to rethink that original opinion. I think the 2-part split was for the best.
Overall, I was impressed and very satisfied with how Part 1 was translated on-screen. I, like many others, are stoked for Part 2 and can't wait to see how the movie brings to life the conclusion of the best-selling book series of all time. I'm just annoyed there's an 8-month wait between Part 1 and 2. Is it July 15th yet?!
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April 15, 2011 "Please retry" | Standard Edition | 1 | $2.99 | $1.95 |
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The movie was packaged new. The dust cover was not damaged. The movie case had visible puncture marks on the front and back. The discs were not damaged.
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